'The mind has a way of sutting out painful experiences...'

JANE RICKARDS is a regular visitor to Herefordshire Headway. Like many people the charity helps, Jane has a story to tell about how she ended up with serious head injuries.

As a 17-year-old, she suffered a fractured skull and was in a coma for five months. The injuries were sustained during a collision with a car while Jane was riding her horse on a lane near Corporation Farm in Hereford in 1982.

“Something spooked her, perhaps it was the noise of a motorcycle,” said Jane, 45.

“Anyway, my horse bolted and I couldn’t stop her. A car went into us and knocked me flying and I ended up on my head.”

Jane has no recollection of the accident and says she cannot recall living without her condition.

She said: “I don’t know any different. I can’t remember being hit by the car but the mind has a way of shutting out painful experiences and, with the loss of my horse, I suppose it was a painful experience – she had to be destroyed because of it.”

Following the accident, Jane began her recovery. She went to a rehabilitation centre in Oxford for 18 months and learned to talk and walk again but has been left with brain damage and double vision.

She has been coming to Headway for 20 years and attends the Credenhill centre three days a week.

“I started coming when it was in Rotherwas,” said Jane, who lives in Hereford.

“I enjoy coming here and I do some cookery. If I was more computer-minded, I could go on the computers.”

John Jarvis, chief executive at Headway, hopes Jane’s story will encourage horse riders and car drivers to think more about safety.

He recommends the following safety advice:

■ It’s essential to have the right training, supervision and to have the right kit, including boots, body protectors and helmets.

■ Wear protective headgear to the current approved standards and make sure it is correctly fitted and secured at all times.

■ Wear high-visibility jackets when out on the roads.

This can give drivers an extra three seconds’ reaction time.

■ Try to avoid riding on roads in failing light or darkness.

■ Do not ride more than two abreast on the road.

The Highway Code supplies the following advice for motorists:

■ Take extra care on country roads and reduce speed on bends.

■ Be prepared for horse riders, cyclists and slow-moving vehicles or mud on the road.

■ Make sure you can stop within the distance you can see to be clear.

■ Headway supports the “See and Be Seen” campaign promoted by the British Horse Society – visit bhs.org.uk.